Offset machines



L. G. DUBUIT OFFSET MACHINES July 26, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 9, 1963 Inventor:

DUBUIT LOUIS GILBE Attornev July 26, 1966 1.. G. DUBUlT 3,262,384

OFFSET MACHINES Original Filed Dec. 9. 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 556 6 65 C4 4 C5 C6 55:

Inventor: LOUIS GILBER DU BUIT Attorney L. G. DUBUlT OFFSET MACHINES July 26, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Dec. 9. 1963 Inventor:

LOUIS GILB? D B Attorney L. G. DUBUIT OFFSET MACHINES July 26, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Criginal Filed Dec. 9. 1963 Attorney T I U m D T TH E mB vm G E U 0 L m it . 8v n v 1 3,262,384 OFFSET MACHINES Louis Gilbert Dubuit, 60 Rue Vitruve, Paris, France Continuation of application Ser. No. 328,873, Dec. 9, 1963. This application Oct. 11, 1965, Ser. No. 500,472 Claims priority, application France, Dec. 13, 1962,

3 Claims. (01. 101-38) This application is a continuation of my application Serial No. 328,873, filed December 9, 1963.

The present invention relates to an improved offset machine adapted to print decorating patterns and the like on articles of any desired sha-pe.

Offset machines of the rotary type for decorating articles, as presently known, comprise a cylinder, carrying one or several rubber blankets, which imprint from one or a plurality of inked plates and which transfer the printing onto the articles to be printed.

In such machines, the printing platesthe clichesformed of thin engraved sheets, are rolled about a cylinder, a set of inking or sliding rollers overlying one another from said printing plate. The said plate is adjustable so as to be able to adjust the pressure thereof on the blanket, and this is effected by, first, perfectly adjusting both cylinders, i.e. the plate and the blanket, so that they are parallel to one another and then moving apart or drawing near the two axes thereof so as to adjust the quantity of ink to be applied. A third adjustment is required to adjust the pattern laterally and a final adjustment is necessary to adjust the design along the circumference of the plate.

Since in such machines, it is impossible rapidly to withdraw the plate-carrying cylinder, the accurate positioning of a plate over a cylinder is a long and delicate operation. The same difiiculty occurs when it is required to withdraw the inking cylinder, which, when effecting impressions on plastic materials, must frequently be cleaned from the dust particles accumulated on the articles. When it is required to adjust the pressure of the plate on the blanket, and on account of the piling up of the inking rollers over the plate, it is necessary to actuate eccentrically mounted members for varying said pressure on the blanket, but this, at the same time, overthrows the peripheral adjustment.

Moreover, in the known machines, the rubber blanket is strongly stretched on the blanket-carrying cylinder. This blanket is very hard and when it is require-d to effect a printing on articles such as soft plastic bottles, the printing is always grainy and generally very pale.

Finally, in such machines, the articles are always carried on star or plate supports, and when it is required to print on plastic bottles or aerosol containers, which could not be readily mounted on a chuck, it is difficult United States Patent "ice carrying cylinder in such a manner that it may be immediately withdrawn, instead of disposing the same on a path requiring the whole set of rollers to be disassembled before extracting said cylinder.

Still another object of the invention is to arrange the inking cylinder in such a manner that it may be immediately withdrawn without displacing any one of the sliding or distributing rollers.

A further object of the invention, when the articles to be printed are placed on chucks carried by a staror plate member rotating intermittently, is to be able to adjust the position of the chucks rather than displacing the axis of the star member.

The machine according to the invention comprises, in a framework, a blanket-carrying cylinder, a plurality of plate-carrying cylinders, as many inking rollers as these are plate-carrying cylinders, and a plurality of ink distributing and sliding rollers, said framework including two end-shields in which are adj'ustably and removably -mounted the plate-carrying cylinders and their corresponding inking rollers, the adjustment of. each platecarrying cylinder being made in a plane perpendicular to that of its corresponding inking roller, and adjusting screws arranged for adjusting the cylinders or rollers against the action of controlling springs.

Each bearing of the plate-carrying cylinder shaft comprises a screw placed along the axis of said shaft for the lateral adjustment of the cylinder.

The printing blanket is formed of hollow part cylindrical segments in the form of half sleeves or shells adjustable on the blanket-carrying cylinder and covered with plastic material having a strong'affinity to printing inks such as polyurethane.

The invention will be best understood from the following description and appended drawings relating to a four colour printing machine, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away exploded perspective view of a blanket-carrying cylinder;

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away perspective view of the article-carrying cylinder mounted in its bearings arranged in sliding relationship to their adjusting paths;

FIG. 3 is a partially cu t-away perspective view of the inking cylinder arranged in its bearings slidingly mounted in their adjusting paths;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the machine equipped with a star member for carrying the articles to be printed, mounted on chuck-members;

FIG. 5 is a-p-rofile view of said machine;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the article-carrying star member;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the machine equipped with a chain for printing bottles;

FIG. 8 is a side View of the machine illustrated in FIGURE 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the machine represented in FIGURE 7.

As illustrated, the printing machine comprises a framework having two end-shields 1 and 1' between which rotates a blanket-carrying report cylinder 2 mounted on a shaft 2' (FIGURE 1).

Instead of using a rubber blanket stretched on the blanket-carrying report cylinder 2, two half sleeves 3 and 3', are employed which are coated with a plastic material such as polyurethane, the thickness and diameter 9 of which may be varied according to needs, said plastic material having a much higher affinity to inks than the generally used rubber for the blankets.

In said example, the half sleeves 3 and 3 have their edges tapered, such as at 4 and 4'.

Cylinder 2 is formed with threads at both its ends, such that collars 5 and 5 also formed with tapered, but inverted, edges, may be locked by threaded rings 6 and 6 on the tapered edges 4, 4 of half sleeves 3 and 3, thus assuring the perfect attachment and flattening thereof onto the surface of cylinder 2.

However, said half sleeves 3 and 3' may be fixed onto the cylinder 2 by means of bolts or similar members.

In the following description, and for brevity, these two polyurethane coated half sleeves will be designated as blankets.

The end-shields 1 and 1' are arranged such that four plate-carrying cylinders A, B, C, D, may be placed all around the blanket-carrying cylinder 2. The shafts 7 of said cylinders are carried, at their ends, by bearings 19 and 10 slidingly mounted on adjusting guides or paths 11 and 11 (FIGURES 2 and 3) formed by machining in said shields 1 and 1'. Screws 13 and 13', carried by plates 12 and 12', are adapted, against the action of springs 14- and 14, to adjust the position of bearings 10 and 10' in such a manner that the plates A, B, C or D engage tangentially blanket 3 carried by cylinder 2.

Shaft 7 of each plate-carrying cylinder carries a pinion 8 in mesh with a pinion 9 secured on shaft 2' of cylinder 2. Said pinion 8 consists of two portions, a portion 8' secured on shaft 7 and the pinion proper 8 secured on portion 8' by means of three screws 18 adapted to move inside a stud-hole 19 in order to shift the plate peripherally with respect to pinion 8. When this adjustment is ended, bearing 10 is locked on the shield by means of screws (FIGURE 3).

Bearing 10, besides, is formed with a clamp or yoke member 15 carrying a screw 16 terminating in a ball adapted to bear against the axis 7 of the plate-carrying cylinder to cause the axial displacement thereof.

Each inking cylinder a is carriedby a shaft 20 (FIG- URE 3). On this shaft is secured a pinion 21 in mesh with the pinion 8. The end portions of shaft 20 are carried by bearings 22 and 22' which move in paths 22a and 22'a, perpendicular to the path of the bearings of the plate-carrying cylinder A. These bearings 22 and 22' are adjusted by means of screws 23 and 23' and coil springs 24 such that the inking roller a is caused tangentially to engage plate A. Said screws bear against plates 54 and 54' which may be readily removed, this enabling the withdrawal, without difliculty, of the inking roller a.

The arrangement of the adjusting paths of the'platecarrying cylinders A, B, C, D, of the inking rollers a, b, c, of the distributing rollers a a and of the sliding rollers a a is such that the path of cylinder A is parallel to those of the distributing and sliding rollers a a a a and such that the path of the inking roller is perpendicular to the latter rollers, thus making it possible to remove each plate-carrying cylinder without affecting the inking rollers, as well as to remove the inking roller a without affecting the printing plate, or the inking rollers, as shown in FIGURE 4.

It will indeed be noted that the plate-carrying cylinder may instantly be removed when both plates 12 and 12 which maintain the two bearings 10 and 10', respectively, in their adjusting path have been removed, and that the inking roller may equally be removed immediately upon removing the plates 54 and 54' which block said two bearings in their adjusting paths 22a and 22a, perpendicular, respectively, to the adjusting ipaths 11, 11 of the plate-carrying cylinder, this operation being effected without affecting the other sliding or distributing rollers. This arrangement presents moreover the considerable advantage of being able to effect all the inking adjustments,

4 either of the printing plate, or of the blanket, or of the inking roller on the plate, in a simple way, by screwing or unscrewing the adjusting screws fixed on the attachment plates and bearing against said bearings, while a controlling spring biases said bearings in the opposite direction when said adjusting screw is unscrewed.

On shaft 2 is secured a pinion 25 which meshes with a pinion 26 fixed on shaft 27, the latter shaft being integral with the output shaft of a speed reducer 28 driven by a motor 51.

A crank-pin 32 secured on shaft 27 actuates a Geneva cross 33 secured, on shaft 30. A pinion 31, fixed on the latter shaft, meshes with a further pinion 29 carried by shaft 34. Said shaft 34 carries, on one side, a chuckcarrying plate or disc 35 shaped as a star member, and on the other side a sprocket-wheel 37.

The mandrels 36a, 36b, 360 are carried by pins 38 which rotate in lever arms 39 rotatable about an axis 4% of a socket 40' supported on a bar 41. Each arm 39 carries a screw 42 which enables, between the surface of the article to be printed to be adjusted parallel to that of the blanket.

Bar 41 slides in a radial sliding path 35a formed on the star member 35 to enable the position of chucks 36 to be adjusted according to the diameter of the article.

When it is required to effect printing on bottles, or other articles which cannot be mounted on the chuck, the chuck-carrying plate or star member 35 is removed and sprocket-wheel 37 is connected to a pinion 43 (FIGURES 7 and 8) carried on a shaft 44, on which are also secured two further sprocket-wheels 45 and 45' carrying chains 46 and 46', respectively.

The conveyor chain, of the type described in the specification of my U. S. Patent No. 3,133,496, carries, as shown in the respective drawings appended to said specification, dihedrals such as 47 and 47' on which the bottles are placed and pushed by a pneumatically driven tripped member 48. The bottle mounts the dihedral and is engaged in a loose socket 49; a device is then provided to feed compressed air to the plastic bottle which becomes sufficiently rigid to receive the printing from blanket 3 carrying the four printing colours. If the bottle is conically shaped, the chains 46 and 46 are located at different levels by means of rollers such as 50' and 50, so that the upper generating line runs parallel to the printing blanket.

In the case of plane articles, the chain is arranged to receive such articles and a sprocket-wheel 49, secured on shaft 2 of the blanket which then drives the shaft 44 in a continuous rotating motion in such a manner that the speed of the chain is equal to the peripheral speed of the blanket.

What I claim is:

1. In an offset printing machine for printing upon articles of diversified shape the improvement comprising in combination a frame; conveyor means carried by said frame for the objects to be printed upon; a report cylinder rotatably mounted in said frame and carrying a blanket comprised of at least two cylindrical segments having on their outer surface a layer of plastic material having suflicient affinity to ink; at least one printing cylinder longitudinally contacting said report cylinder and at least one curved printing plate carried thereby; an inking cylinder cooperating with each printing cylinder; first shafts each rotatably supporting a printing cylinder; second shafts each rotatably supporting an inking cylinder; first bearing means for each of said first shafts displaceable radially of the report cylinder; second bearing means for each of said second shafts displaceable substantially perpendicularly to the direction of displacement of said first bearing means; and first and second displacing means for said first and said second bearing means, respectively.

2. An offset printing machine according to claim 1 wherein the said first displacing means for said first bearing means comprise a first adjusting screw regulating the 5 parallelism between the printing plate and the blanket, and further comprising a stirrup member associated with said first bearing means provided with a second adjusting screw permitting lateral adjustment of the printing plate.

3. An offset printing machine according to claim 1 comprising a fiat star member; a plurality of chucks carried thereby and adapted to hold objects to be printed upon; a shaft rotatably supporting said star member; a Geneva cross actuating said shaft; a plurality of tiltable support means mounted upon the star member for displacement in radial direction thereof; adjusting means to control the tilt of said support means; a mandrel adapted References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1957 Fredericks 161401 X 6/1964 Hollows 10138 10 DAVID KLEIN, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM F. MCCARTHY, JR., Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN OFFSET PRINTING MACHINE FOR PRINTING UPON ARTICLES OF DIVERSIFIED SHAPE THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A FRAME; CONVEYOR MEANS CARRIED BY SAID FRAME FOR THE OBJECTS TO BE PRINTED UPON; A REPORT CYLINDER ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME AND CARRYING A BLANKET COMPRISED OF AT LEAST TWO CYLINDRICAL SEGMENTS HAVING ON THEIR OUTER SURFACE A LAYER OF PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING SUFFICIENT AFFINITY TO INK; AT LEAST ONE PRINTING CYLINDER LONGITUDINALLY CONTACTING SAID REPORT CYLINDER AND AT LEAST ONE CURVED PRINTING PLATE CARRIED THEREBY; AN INKING CYLINDER COOPERATING WITH EACH PRINTING CYLINDER; FIRST SHAFTS EACH ROTATABLY SUPPORTING A PRINTING CYLINDER; SECOND SHAFTS EACH ROTATABLY SUPPORTING AN INKING CYLINDER; FIRST BEARING MEANS FOR EACH OF SAID FIRST SHAFTS DISPLACEABLE RADIALLY OF THE REPORT CYLINDER; SECOND BEARING MEANS FOR EACH OF SAID SECOND SHAFTS DISPLACEABLE SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULARLY TO THE DIRECTION OF DISPLACEMENT OF SAID FIRST BEARING MEANS; AND FIRST AND SECOND DISPLACING MEANS FOR SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND BEARING MEANS, RESPECTIVELY. 